Kwethu Children's Education Project, South Africa

by K2011127140 trading as PSI Projects

Project Report | Oct 7, 2022
Milestones, not millstones

By Barbara Borgman | Project Manager

Millstones are not exactly post modern metaphors that most of us relate to!

But we know a millstone is heavy, has a hole in the center that means a rope can thread thru, so it metaphorically could be 'tied around a person's neck'. Gruesome, archaic, but a metaphor that was once used by an ancient teacher to emphasize how important it is to make sure no child is abused, led astray or violated by adults responsible for nurture and formation.

Milestones, on the other hand, are set with purpose, hope and direction, by the same adults , responsible for nurture and education, with the child in view. The youth of Kwethu Children's Village have been fortunate to have caring adults helping them set goals , marked by milestones of achievement. Isn't it effective to consciously set milestones out along the path to be traveled , specific targets? Without being onerous, we work to improve our mentoring support of each learner under our care with tools like this.

Taking a moment to remember some bumpy slogs, when the child in question made a poor decision, dropped out of responsibility or hid his or her problems, shows the realistic burden it is to stay unconditionally true to the child. If trust is not broken, setting a realistic milestone can help getting them unstuck.

Now! We are excited to announce that the ongoing work of education of the Kwethu children and other orphans and vulnerable youth In Uthukela Region of South Africa will be taken over by Ubuntu Education Fund, via GlobalGiving's wondrous and amazing powerhouse of coaching, accountability and distribution of funds.

So friends, this is the last report for Kwethu Children's Education. A milestone has been reached. Its the end of one journey and start of another, all with the same young people, the same staff and a more robust project design.

Click on the link below to be introduced to our new page. You won't be able to not smile when you see the 'Train of Hope!

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ubuntu-education-fund/

Milestones, not millstones, for children journeying out of poverty and vulnerability.

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Jun 23, 2022
Sincerely yours, Kwethu Education Student

By Barbara Borgman | Fund Manager

high hopes

Dear friend,

I know you don't know exactly who I am so let me tell you something about me.

I"m a teenager , a little older than you might think of as a teenager, and my main goal is to have a good future. That means, making money so I can get the things I see other people enjoy. But my mentor, Mrs Ndlovu, keeps reminding me that goal depends on immediate goals of doing well in my study at university and passing my exams. And reaching that goal depends, she reminds me, on my character of being able to discipline my love of having a good time and just hanging out.

Nobody in my family has been to university before. My family home is a group of small buildings fenced by sticks and wire, along a heavily rutted dirt road shared by neighbors and chickens.A grass roofed rondaval in our compound is where we meet on special occasions and in special ways,to 'listen' to ancestral wisdom advising on decisions affecting all of us. I think that education at university.will make a difference in how I make decisions. I hope it gives me wider options and bigger ideas that what I see my friends in the village have.

I'm a Zulu girl. I've already had a baby because I thought getting pregnant was okay, sort of to maybe show you are a woman...anyway there was nothing to stop that happening when I had a boyfriend. I'm lucky that baby's grandmother is taking care of him so I can go to school. That's another reason I need to succeed. I'm learning responsibility in a big way, in a hard way.

I am a South African. I'm proud of that and I think it means I have a great future in front of me. I hope there will be a job for me that I can help my country be successful.

I grew up at Kwethu Children's Village and I see my 'siblings' older than me with jobs, cars, homes. They also talk to me, send me text messages and encourage me to stay focused on my studying and exams. I sort of think I really have to do that , because they won't let me forget how it is I have this opportunity. And that I wouldn't have any other chance to reach my goals.I know all the other learners who are supported by Kwethu Education Fund, and I'm proud to be part of this family. That also helps me stay focused.

So I want to thank you for having faith in me. I don't want to disappoint you or my Kwethu family or my mentors and Gogo B. And I hope that when I finish and get a job I can give back to the Education Fund so other girls can go to school.

Sincerely,

Happy to Have a Future

On my way

watch this space!

Adventure in education ahead

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Feb 24, 2022
Pockets Full of Hope, minds full of dreams

By Barbara Borgman | Project Administrator/Board member

We managers , with parent hearts, of Kwethu Children's Village are bursting with pride over the success of the children in our care. Over the past 12 years, we have sent 17 of our 'children' to tertiary/training in order to provide them with skills to be independent.

Each one of them chose what they wanted to pursue. Some of them made mistakes and were given guidance for re direction. Some of them focused through and arrived at their dream in record time.

We have teachers, putting their studies in Chemistry, Accounting to good use, helping high school students achieve. We have electricians in managerial position, intrapersonal skills being put to use in business. WE have hospitality training, outdoor adventure guide, and electrical artisans in training. Our youngest teenage girl just hopped onto the InterCape bus to Bloemfontein, to Central University of Technology to a bridging course in preparation for studying Plant Pathology.

Where do you find anything to equal all this love in action, trust bearing interest and hope gleaming brightly?

Kwethu Children's Village will be on the sign boards for a long time. You won't see the kids because they are living full lives which they've dreamed into being. What makes success? Mentors who stay walking beside until well past achievement, to the place where values are truly established.

Rural South African children, made vulnerably by poverty and orphanhood, are the raw ore we work with to produce the hidden diamond. WE feel that strongly! We work that perseveringly.

Thank you all for your trust in what we do, for understanding the pricniple of ubuntu: I am because you are and we are connected , with responsibility to each other, by virture of being alive! This principle heals every level of society. We pray this principle will continue to find its way to the highest levels of social decisions.

Meanwhile, we at Kwethu Chidlrens Village Education Project will protect our kids spiritual, mental and social development with guidance and counsel.

Attachments:

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